Cyprus Talks: Akinci hopeful of a positive outcome in the next Geneva conference

Turkish Cypriot president Mustafa Akinci has expressed his hope ahead of the next Conference in Geneva later this month saying that he hopes Geneva is the last and final stop for a possible resolution to the Cyprus problem.

“Geneva is the last stop, the final stop, there are not 50 more years after this”, Akinci said on his arrival back from New York on Thursday.

“We have reached an agreement with the UNSG, we will be ready to implement the responsibilities which fall to us by staying faithful to this agreement, by staying committed to the framework which came up”, he added.

Akinci said that he want to see the same from the Greek and the Greek Cypriot side as shown by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side.

Speaking on the joint statement made by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after their meeting in New York on Sunday, Akinci said no pre-conditions were included, noting that a common understanding has been summarised, a parallel process exists, all issues are on the table and they will be negotiated in an interdependent manner. 

The conference which is expected to last about 1-2 weeks will begin at the Palace of Nations in Geneva on Wednesday, June 28th, with Greece, Turkey and Britain taking part in the five-party conference. 

Akinci noted that no order of priority existed for each of the chapters adding that it had been confirmed that all issues are of equal value.